'Obamacare' may be best wedge

One of the biggest surprises to President Barack Obama’s political operatives must be the ongoing unpopularity of “Obamacare.”

The president continues to describe the law as his “signature achievement” — presumably more important than even the economic stimulus. Yet despite dozens of speeches on the subject from The Great Persuader, and the decision to tilt the law’s benefits so they take effect immediately while postponing the costs, the health care law continues to draw a thumbs down from a majority of Americans.

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By 50 percent to 42 percent, the public believes “Obamacare” is “a bad thing,” according to a recent USA Today survey, a ratio that has remained remarkably steady in the two years since its passage. Over that time, studies have demonstrated that the law will increase, not decrease, health care premiums and will likely push tens of thousands of workers into government-run exchanges.

Both outcomes run counter to Obama’s central promises that, first, the law will slow health care cost increases and, second, allow workers to keep their current health plans.

The controversy over the administration’s decision to require all insurance plans to provide contraceptives and abortifacient drugs only deepens public anxiety about the law. Apparently, religious freedom is yet another inconvenience to the implementation of “Obamacare.”

The USA Today survey’s most explosive finding is the widespread belief — by a 3-to-1 majority — that the law’s health insurance mandate is unconstitutional. This view is grounded in the traditional American notion that the government cannot compel any individual to purchase any product or service — even if it’s for their “own good.” America’s historic preference has always favored freedom over government guarantees.

This comes after liberal jurists and academicians have spent years asserting that there are no real, let alone constitutional, limits on Congress’s power “to regulate interstate commerce.” Remember then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s blank stare when asked to cite specific authority in the Constitution permitting Congress to impose such a mandate.

Liberals have long believed that the doctrine of “enumerated powers,” under which Congress may legislate based only on specific powers named in the Constitution, was yet another antiquated notion — presumably alongside looking to the Founders’ original intent, another requirement liberals find bothersome.

The GOP presidential candidates had assumed that the economy would be the central focus of this election. It still is likely to be. But with the superficial “improvement” in unemployment and economic growth numbers — as well as the president’s ongoing campaign to undermine Republican proposals — the economy may not be a decisive GOP weapon.

By contrast, “Obamacare” is. This “signature achievement” is uniquely the president’s and his party’s. It passed through questionable tactics (“deemed to be enacted”) and shady promises (“Cornhusker Kickback”) — maybe the worst since Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act in the 1850s.

Twenty-six Republican governors are now engaged in challenging it in the courts. The partisan cleavage over this issue comes as close as any to defining the differences between liberal Democrats (“Let us take care of you”) and conservative Republicans (“I can take care of my own family”).

Who ever thought that health care could become a GOP wedge issue?

Frank Donatelli is chairman of GOPAC, the center for educating and electing a new generation of Republican leaders.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this piece misstated the number of Republicans who voted for the health care plan.

CORRECTION: Corrected by: Bryan Doyle @ 03/05/2012 08:19 AM
This is the line being referred to:
By contrast, “Obamacare” is. This “signature achievement” is uniquely the president’s and his party’s. Not a single Republican in the House or Senate voted for it. It passed through questionable tactics (“deemed to be enacted”) and shady promises (“Cornhusker Kickback”) — maybe the worst since Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act in the 1850s.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0312/73589.html#ixzz1oFRM2uEj
let's just remove that sentence for now.
and add this to the bottom:
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this piece misstated the number of Republicans who voted for the health care plan.
-----Original Message-----
From: Allison Silver
Sent: Mon 3/5/2012 8:08 AM
To: TP-Webteam
Subject: Opinion -- donatelli FIX
Hi Team,
So there is an error. Can we fix and also put a note on this pls?
--allison
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From: Donatelli, F